This is a discussion on My Sunset Orange Mahindra XUV500 AWD W10. EDIT : 40000 km service update within Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; Originally Posted by Sheel
I know you are disappointed and even I was when I happened to drive the pre-facelift ...

I know you are disappointed and even I was when I happened to drive the pre-facelift XUV which had done some 54 thousand kilometers. The thing was creaking even on plain roads.

I too did 30,000 kms service in my Scorpio few days ago and no squeaks, rattles, niggles...why so much of a difference? Link I don't think even M&M can explain this.

Major issue i feel is with the second row seats, So if there is no one sitting on it, The noise it makes will make you go crazy! Service centre says there isn't much that can be done, Their soo called, "Setting" is only temporary, Along with the seats the seat belts of the second row too, So even if they are tucked into their lock, They will eventually come out, To top it all the service centre's attitude to rectify all this is very pathetic to say the least.

Major issue i feel is with the second row seats, So if there is no one sitting on it, The noise it makes will make you go crazy!

Goodness...!! I like my cars quiet and I would have a hard time if I had been at your place. Few issues did come up in my 4WD Scorpio but ASC managed to resolve it after few trials. But, thank God I am spared of rattles & squeaks.

Speak to the guy who does seat work in body shop at authorized ASC, he just might help.

Major issue i feel is with the second row seats, So if there is no one sitting on it, The noise it makes will make you go crazy! Service centre says there isn't much that can be done, Their soo called, "Setting" is only temporary, Along with the seats the seat belts of the second row too, So even if they are tucked into their lock, They will eventually come out, To top it all the service centre's attitude to rectify all this is very pathetic to say the least.

Tanveer, 2nd row seats are prone to rattles. I had the tumble seats replaced due to rattle in first few weeks of ownership and did not had any rattles so far. I have completed 54000 kms in 14 months after that replacement. However the other middle row seat now rattles when no one is seated and you are right, it gets you irritated to the core, especially in the night. I am planning to show it to the dealer here in Kochi in few days.

Goodness...!! I like my cars quiet and I would have a hard time if I had been at your place. Few issues did come up in my 4WD Scorpio but ASC managed to resolve it after few trials. But, thank God I am spared of rattles & squeaks.

Speak to the guy who does seat work in body shop at authorized ASC, he just might help.

Seriously, Even i love my car's to be quite, Specially when my 2nd car is a Jetta i am used to the silent cabin, Hence probably the rattles in XUV affect me more, I had actually spoken to the guy who does the soo called "setting" but even according to him he accepted its a temporary fix and for now there is no permanent fix for it now.

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Originally Posted by S5157

Tanveer, 2nd row seats are prone to rattles. I had the tumble seats replaced due to rattle in first few weeks of ownership and did not had any rattles so far. I have completed 54000 kms in 14 months after that replacement. However the other middle row seat now rattles when no one is seated and you are right, it gets you irritated to the core, especially in the night. I am planning to show it to the dealer here in Kochi in few days.

Hi! Yes the second row seats are very annoying, Even the seat belts hits the pillar and makes noises, The holder for the seat belt isn't of any use really, Apart from the second row seats and seat belts and car is pretty okay, Much better than my first generation XUV in terms of rattles, Do update if by chance you get a permanent fix for it.

So this is how I got rid of the rattles from tumbling seat of second row. In my case the hooks were hit by empty seat whenever I went over potholes. At the base there are hooks which actually holds the seat in place. Take an electrical insulation tape and apply it liberally with 10 or more rounds around the hook. That should do the trick.

For the seat belts on second row, I now keep them always "applied". Meaning, pull them out and buckle up as if someone is using them. That does not leave the seat belt hanging. Another thing you might have to check - the seat belts have enough spring-pullback force so that it is completely retracted and not left loose dangling.

So this is how I got rid of the rattles from tumbling seat of second row. In my case the hooks were hit by empty seat whenever I went over potholes. At the base there are hooks which actually holds the seat in place. Take an electrical insulation tape and apply it liberally with 10 or more rounds around the hook. That should do the trick.

For the seat belts on second row, I now keep them always "applied". Meaning, pull them out and buckle up as if someone is using them. That does not leave the seat belt hanging. Another thing you might have to check - the seat belts have enough spring-pullback force so that it is completely retracted and not left loose dangling.

Thanks! That seems to be a good idea to rectify the seats rattling issue, Though for the seat belts ill first have to remove the buckle from under the seats somewhere, Will have a look what can be done.

Who gets up on a Sunday at 5 am? Why would anyone do that? We did! A bunch of guys decided to go at a destination where only one of us (Bhpian Madhu) Had visited couple of years back, Since the place was near Igatpuri it was not very far as well, We were not counting on the destination to be great, We all just wanted to have a nice drive on smooth tarmac and have a great time, But well, Who knew destination would turn out to be...

Destination :

We started soon, All of us reached thane at our meeting point at 7 AM and some of us were already hungry, Decided to stop here for the breakfast, 3 Of the total 6 XUV's can be seen here.

The drive started on smooth tarmac and some good twisties, I always prefer this route to Nasik than the one to Pune Via Expressway.

Taking a left from Igatpuri just after the toll, We faced some really rough patches and bad roads, Hatchbacks and Sedans were literally crawling on these bad roads and we were really flying over the potholes without even slowing down, Full points to the XUV

Lets some pictures do the talking,

Bad roads + Rough patches = Dust (We had a feeling of being in a rally)

Even this route had lot of twist and turns, Some very very sharp turns too.

& When we reached, We literally held our breath, One side had lots of water, A narrow road in the middle and the other side a steep fall into the trees, No room for errors, We had to have a spotter standing all the time while every car took a U turn, It was amazing though.

Then started the proper photo sessions.

Final picture for now,
From left to right,

Gentle Giant, SDP in Blue, Madhu in the cap, Thats me in the HD tee, Naishal behind Madhu, Kevin in the pink tee, Amit behind him the black shades and Madhu's friend.

Photo Credits : SDP

Thats all for now, If i have missed any pictures will post them once i come across them.

Nicely summing up the fun Tanveer!!
Last time when i was there was during the monsoon season and it was pretty early in the morning too. Trust me , that place was so serene in that weather . The lake was not fully visible due to fog and because of it we missed the beautiful landscape that we saw yesterday.
That time we drove my Tata Manza from Jawahar completely unaware of the sights awaiting us. It was just exploring the google maps wanting to indulge in some adventure for the sake of it that we landed up to this place . We had started from Jawahar as early as 4.30 am then.
We took some shortcut en route due to which we had to encounter horrible slush and off roads (we crossed a hill basically, yesterday was no where close to that scary experience). Was extremely lucky to pull it off without any damage to the car then.

How i wish we had more time on our hands yesterday as that place still has so much more surprises to offer. Especially with your Awd there was still a lot of fun to be done. We should plan another visit there soon (others who missed the fun this time could join in as well). Let me know your thoughts on the same.
Even yesterday i assume you must have seen some trails which were indeed very inviting and i was thinking of you every time i saw one.
Awesome photography too from our very own SDP.

It was amazing how u and Sanjay were far far ahead of the pack on the Nashik highway.

However later on the approach route to the destination you were forced to follow me.
Talking about the approach route off the highway which in itself was a fantastic experience with some rough patches and lot of twists and turns and ups and downs. It is here that the Xuv showed its prowess dismissing every surprise the route threw its way with utter disdain. I am very impressed with its chassis manners for such situations given it weighs a good 1800kgs and its Suv body style.

Though leading the pack i was cautious of the fact that others in the group might not be able to keep up with my pace but then what the heck, you don't get to do such stretches very often that too without your spouse and kids to be worried of, i just couldn't hold myself and drive sedately on that stretch. Was a lot of fun. At some sections we even touched triple digit speeds. Some parts were very rough and rocky, however the spoilt self that i have become owing to my TATA roots , i did not slow down , later when I realised that you and Sanjay too are tailgating me in all this , it gave me a lot of confidence and I kept going through.
A fun filled Sunday really!!.

Given that I no longer drive the XUV on a daily basis, I am always looking forward to any weekend opportunity to let the beast loose. Have to thank Madhu for persisting with the "drive plan" and maintaining the enthu high till the last moment, which ensured that we had a good turnout for this drive. He recommending the particular destination was a blessing in disguise. It would have been even more fun if the purple XUV could also have joined, but sometimes luck just plays spoilsport.

With all the anticipation of visiting a new place and a longish drive, I got up much before the alarm and got ready. Staying next to a highway meant my XUV was covered with a thick layer of dust. No way I was taking a dusty car to a group drive! My regular car-cleaning guy is a saheb and turns up leisurely at 9am to wash my car. So I washed the XUV myself in about 15 minutes and got rolling. Was happy to spot Tanveer's XUV just 5 minutes later along with one more orange XUV (turned out to be that of Gentle Giant). Everybody meeting at Thane took longer than planned, but that's OK. The surprisingly thick traffic even on Sunday morning worried me a bit initially, but soon most from the group picked up decent speeds.

Kasara ghat stretch was epic. Once we broke out from the maddening truck traffic, the tyres started squealing (I wonder why ) and broad grins were permanently plastered on the faces from then on. The Nasik expressway ended too soon and we took a left towards Vaitarna. The road surface quickly deteriorated, but nobody slowed down. At one point the dust cloud left by Madhu's XUV in front was so thick that I was darting through it only on blind faith. The scenery improved as we moved deeper in the country side. Then unexpectedly Madhu turned right at the dam and dam(n), what a beautiful place it turned out to be. Although the sun was pretty high in the sky by then; the cool breeze, serene calm water and crisp clarity of the air made me fall in love with this place instantly.

After more than 2 hours of driving, it was time to enjoy the surrounding and chat with friends. Lining up the XUVs (alternate white XUVs) for the photoshoot was fun. I had a family commitment to attend and therefore unfortunately the time I could spend at the amazing spot was limited. The return journey was even faster than morning and thoroughly enjoyed chasing Tanveer and Gentle Giant.

Thanks guys for planning and coordinating this fantastic drive! Will look forward to driving with you guys again soon.

Thanks Madhu and SDP for putting some more details over the trip, Whats amazing is how comfortable we are with everyone, Even though always there are a couple of new people who haven't met before Really enjoyed the drive and has become a memory for sure, Thanks everyone who came along, I hope to see more people to join in.

On the side note, Today i had a chance to sit at the back seat of the XUV, Not mine though, Had hired a Ola Executive, I was just soo surprised to see how much space the XUV offer's, Trust me on this but i have never sat in the middle row of an XUV for more than 5 minutes, Not even in my previous XUV, It was such a joy really.

Also, Anyone who is interested for drives, Please drop me a message, I have got several messages from people who are willing to join in for drives that happen every now and then.

On the side note, Today i had a chance to sit at the back seat of the XUV, Not mine though, Had hired a Ola Executive, I was just soo surprised to see how much space the XUV offer's, Trust me on this but i have never sat in the middle row of an XUV for more than 5 minutes, Not even in my previous XUV, It was such a joy really.

I generally never hand over my car to anyone including my Brother-in-law but on my trip to Tadoba earlier this year in April, I had given the wheel to @Robi_Mahanta and @Diesel_Convert - they drove from Bangalore to Chadrapur! I was dozing off on the middle seat like couch potato! The slight recline of the middle seats make seating even more comfortable. The seat belt though lacks the height adjustment and is troublesome at upright position for my height (5'7"). AC is still not that great on second row at first 15-20 minutes but once cabin is cooled off, its all chilling! I set the last row AC ON and turn the vents towards middle seat. That helps.

I generally never hand over my car to anyone including my Brother-in-law but on my trip to Tadoba earlier this year in April, I had given the wheel to @Robi_Mahanta and @Diesel_Convert - they drove from Bangalore to Chadrapur! I was dozing off on the middle seat like couch potato! The slight recline of the middle seats make seating even more comfortable.

Indeed it becomes really comfortable after reclining the seats further, Also can easily use my Mac while travelling, There is literally very good amount of space, Also what i notice was the car pulling the even in the second row i could feel the pull and i was being pushed to the backseat! Not bad eh?

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AC is still not that great on second row at first 15-20 minutes but once cabin is cooled off, its all chilling! I set the last row AC ON and turn the vents towards middle seat. That helps.

Exactly, The AC air flow is very weak in the second row, I too keep the rear AC on every time there is someone sitting on the second row, I have kept the air flow of the 3rd row vents at the max setting and have set them in a way that the throw air over the second row, Helps big time to cool the car faster.

Another amazing sunday morning drive, Getting up at 5 AM on a Sunday is totally worth it, These guys make it worth it actually, Kudos to everyone who comes in for the drives, Its really because of each one of us the fun we have and the amazing time we spend makes a sunday morning worth it, Ill just shhh.. and let the pictures and a couple of videos do some talking, Don't we look happy?

Expecting bigger and longer meets to happen soon, More the merrier, There is always a smile plastered on our faces while we are driving together even the XUV doesn't leave you disappointed no matter what you throw at it, I have literally abused the car on rough roads, Missing huge speed breakers, Switching off ESP and going bonkers and still once you hit the tarmac the way it drives at high speeds is totally awesome, In all i can say it again and again, This car offers you more than your money's worth!

Another sunday, Another morning meet, Even though there were just 4 cars in total this time, It was totally fun! A couple of videos, Pardon the photos and video quality we did not have our very own professional Camera guy! Mr SDP.

ODO at 37000 KMS, I am already getting irritated by the fact ill have to deal with the service centre again, Planning to Avoid NBS this time and try my luck somewhere else, NBS has been totally pathetic for me in terms of servicing and fixing minor issues in my car, Not only that they managed to somehow screw up my Navigation when i had sent it for the 30,000 kms servicing. Lets see how and where the 40,000 kms servicing happens.